


Professional

by Averageeverydayweirdo



Category: Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Short & Sweet, The Thief hates nature, analyzing a character with two canon apperances, sequel to Don't even worry about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-11-06 05:03:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11029203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Averageeverydayweirdo/pseuds/Averageeverydayweirdo
Summary: In The Thief's line of work, you had to take your job very seriously. For the benefit of your career and your own personal health and safety, there were some strict rules you had to follow, which under no circumstances could be broken.





	1. Rule one

The Thief was a professional. He never stayed in one place for too long.

 

The Thief and Jack ended up doing a lot more that day then just grabbing breakfast. Jack hadn’t been to this particular city before, and the Thief, who’d happened to have been based in this area at the time, offered to show him around. The city, admittedly wasn’t as nice as some other spots the Thief had holed himself in before, but Jack seemed to be very engaged in the tour regardless.  

 

“And… What exactly is a subway station?” Jack asked. Staring at a sign indicating underground railway tunnel. The Thief looked at him to try and tell if he was joking or not. When he saw the fascination and overall seriousness in his eyes, he couldn’t help but snicker.

 

“...I don’t understand, what is so amusing?” Jack interrupted after a moment.  

 

The Thief cleared his throat to cease his laughter. “Oh _man_ , you really are from the past aren’t you?” He leaned forward with his hands in his pockets. Jack raised an eyebrow, eyes flittering to the right, then back at the Thief.

 

“...Yes? I told you this.” This only made the Thief laugh harder. “What is it?” Jack’s voice now showed a layer of irritation.

 

“Ok, Ok-” The Thief said, calming himself down. “You know what trains are, right?” Jack nodded. “Ok, so it’s basically that, only underground.” Jack’s eyes filled with wonder.

 

“How far down does it go?” He pried, hoping to get as much out of the magic of the subway as he could.

 

“Ah, It’s not as exciting as you’re thinking it is.” Thief shrugged, flicking his toothpick to the other side of his mouth with his tongue. “Doesn’t go any deeper than the bottom of those stairs. It’s pretty nasty down there too.” He sniffed with a sort of disdain.

 

Jack responded with a small “Oh”, looking down at the stone stairs, seeming a little disappointed. He then turned to look at the clock hanging on the sign. “...May I ask you another question?”  

 

“Go for it.” Thief responded, taking his toothpick to roll between his fingers.

 

“What time is it?”

 

The Thief glanced over to the clock. “...can’t you tell - Oh yeah, I forgot. Back home you guys only used sundials or whatever. It’s 2:30.”  

 

“2:30?” Jack repeated, surprise. “That means we’ve been doing this for hours…!” He turned to Thief, bowing apologetically. “Forgive me, I did not mean to take up so much time. We should be parting soon.”

 

“Woah, woah, slow down, Pajamas.” Thief said, holding out a hand. “The past isn’t going anywhere, is it?”

 

“Well, technically speaking-”

 

“Exactly!” The Thief interjected. “All I’m saying is you can take a day for yourself, can’t you?”

 

“The thought is appreciated.” Jack started. “And I enjoyed our time together, but, I must-” As he continued, the Thief’s voice overlapped with his in an deep imitation of Jack’s voice, “-continue my quest.” Jack looked up, narrowing his eyes at the Thief and folding his arms as he chuckled lightly.   

 

“Listen, you got to cut yourself some slack here and there.” The Thief said. He moved to Jack’s side and pulled him close. “How about this? We can keep going around, have our fun, maybe grab some dinner and get a room. Then the next day,  you can uh, go back to your time traveling adventures and I’ll get back to work. Sound good?”

 

 

Jack broke eye contact with the smirking man, thinking it over. “I… I suppose one night of rest would be helpful.” He reflected. Sleeping in a bed instead of on the ground after a warm meal did sound appealing. “But… I am curious as to your motive.”

 

“My motive? Well, I’m gonna be honest with you Jacky-boy…” He looked up at Jack. “More honest than anything I’ve ever said in my life.” He took a single step closer to Jack, and Jack found himself naturally leaning away, tensing at this sudden shift of mood.

 

“Earlier, you had to ask me if hot dogs were made of actual dogs, Jack. The stuff you say is golden. So I want to get as much as I can, and then go tell everyone about it. Exaggerate a lot. Make you look _reeeeaaal_ stupid. Tarnish your honor and whatnot.”  

 

Jack, having been around the red haired man long enough to tell that the majority of every word he said was a good natured jab, let himself laugh.

“Very well.” Was his final answer.

 

“Sweet!” Thief said, slapping Jack’s shoulder and moving away from him to continue to lead him through town. “Oh, and uh-” He added, turning around. “Don’t get your hopes up or anything, we’ll have our own beds.” The Thief shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning back on his heels with a mischievous grin.

 

Jack blinked again, furrowing his brow.

 

“I don’t understand. Isn’t it… assumable that we slept separately?” He asked, tilting his head.

 

The Thief didn’t even try to stop the roar of a cackle that came from him.


	2. Rule Two

The Thief was a professional. He made sure to avoid getting on the wrong side of the wrong people. 

 

The motel they checked in was decent, to say the least. Big enough for two people to stay in for the night, sickly yellow walls, mossy green carpeting, bedding with warm, but stiff blankets and greying sheets, a loud but functional heater, and a large window with beige curtains with a perfect view of the motel’s dumpster. Definitely not the worst place the Thief had ever stayed in. All Jack had to say about it is that it was better than sleeping on the dirt. 

 

That night, Jack was able to fall asleep without much trouble. The Thief on the other hand was a light sleeper, a habit he picked up in the cat burglary business; which is why The Thief shot up at 11:15 at a soft patter of hushed footsteps. He tore his briefcase from the side of his bed, pressing a button to activate it’s machine gun feature, jumping from his bed and aiming the barrel towards the sound. It came from the side of the room where Jack was sleeping, and standing just at the foot of his bed was a long but bulky figure, and it turned face the red haired man, revealing a pair of round, red optics. A bot. 

 

“Jack! Watch it!” The Thief shouted. 

 

Jack was quick to get up, seeing the robot and reaching for his sword, but found before he could do anything, The Thief opened fire. The bot spasmed and it shot out bolts of electricity as it was riddled with bullets, falling to the ground, oil spilling onto the cheap carpeting. The Thief, teeth still bared lowered his briefcase, turning the gun setting off and looking down at the would be assassin. Jack sat frozen for a moment, before blinking and pulling himself from the bed, deftly moving to the side of the metal man, examining him. The Thief took two steps forward. 

 

“Pajamas…?” He asked. Jack looked up, eyes narrowed. 

 

“We must leave. It was a minion of Aku.”


	3. Rule Three

The Thief was a professional. He didn’t stick around with anyone, and he didn’t have any partners or cohorts, just clients.

 

The Thief paced around from left to right quickly, one hand on his hip, the other hand stroking and pulling at his beard. He chewed on his toothpick furiously, sweating with wide eyes as his knees shook.  

 

“This is it. I’m dead. There’s no way I can get out of this one.” His words came out louder than he thought they would, falling fast with a terrified tremble. “I killed one of Aku’s goons. Aku! And I did it to stop the hit of the guy at the _top_ of his hit list!” He took his hat off to begin running a hand through his hair.   

 

He and Jack had taken refuge in the sewers on the outskirts of the city, and Jack had taken some straw he’d been carrying on him to set up a campfire. He had stopped upon hearing the red haired man’s fear induced rambling, a guilty expression on his face.

 

“I… I am truly sorry that you were involved with this.” Jack bowed his head,

 

“Sorry?!” The Thief let out a short and sharp laugh. “Sorry isn’t gonna stop Aku from ripping out my entrails!” He paused, seeing Jack’s head still bowed. He waited for Jack to say something, for him to make a comeback, to make a jab at Thief’s cowardice, or the lack of control he currently had over his emotions. Nothing came.  

 

“H-Hey, look, I didn’t-” He stopped himself, turning his back to Jack and placing a hand against the grimy bricked walls, hunched over, letting out a shaky breath.  He was so scared he felt sick.

 

Jack still said nothing. Thief wished he’d say something.

 

He turned his head to look back at Jack, who had now placed two sticks together between one in the middle of his straw pile, quickly rubbing them together. The Thief watched for a moment, before stepping towards Jack and leaning down by his make-shift fire pit, causing him to pause. He took a lighter from the inside of his coat, and flicked it on, holding to the pile and letting it catch ablaze.  

 

“Thank you.” Jack uttered quietly. The Thief nodded in response, sitting down across from him. Jack was bearing a somber and reflective look, focused completely on the fire, while the Thief’s brow was furrowed in concentration as he strained to hear any off sound that would tip off a minion of Aku, eyes shifting through the darkness of the sewers.  

 

“I will help you get out of the city.” Jack suddenly proclaimed, nearly causing the bony man to jump. “If you’ll allow me, I can help you find a place to hide as well.”

 

“In case you forgot-” The Thief straightened his back slightly, his tone blunt as he placed an arm to rest on one leg. “Aku’s got eyes all across the world. He’s got tabs in every nook and cranny you can think of. So it’s pretty safe to assume that he’s already seen me with you.”   

 

Jack looked down, bringing up a hand to stroke his chin with a thoughtful look.

 

“Then come with me.”

 

The Thief didn’t think he heard that right. “I’m sorry, say that again?” He asked, leaning forward.

 

“Travel with me, and I can protect you. It is… the very least I can do for you.”

 

The Thief thought back to the pyramid, and to the Master of Time’s castle. Jack certainly knew how to handle a scrap. Thief on the other hand was no damsel in distress, but he’d often preferred to talk his way out of things. Either that or get out before someone even had time to raise a gun. Somehow, he doubted he’d be able charm Aku’s forces into leaving him be. His options were limited.  

The Thief tilted his hat up, letting Jack see his eyes. “Don’t got much of a choice, now do I?” He asked, reaching out a hand for Jack to shake.


	4. Rule Four

The Thief was a professional. Getting caught on a job was the equivalent of a death sentence; Especially with the crowd he’d steal from. He had to be completely self reliant and versatile, because no one would ever come to help you out. 

 

The Thief smacked at his neck again, feeling yet another crawling sensation against it. He brought his hand down to look at his open palm. There was a squashed mosquito, still twitching from the shock of it’s final moment. The Thief groaned, wiping his glove against a moss covered tree, only to have it smeared green with said moss. Another loud groan. 

 

“Is something the matter?” Jack asked, still pushing his was through the brush.

 

“Nope!” The Thief stuck his chest out with a wide grin. “Just enjoying the wonders of the great outdoors!” He pumped a fist, other hand on his hip with and overzealous cheerfulness. 

 

Jack blinked, confused. “That was sarcasm.” He stated, as though answering a question.

 

“Of course it was sarcasm, we’re trudging through a shithole!” 

 

“This is a swamp.” Jack corrected. 

 

“Same difference.” The thief gave a wave of his hand, grimacing in disgust as his feet sunk into the mud.  

 

Give him the Thief a booby trap infested temple, he’d give you a tour, but a swamp? His jobs didn’t take him out to places like this. 

 

‘What rich mook would hide out in a swamp by choice anyways?’ He thought to himself. 

 

The Thief then realized that given the circumstances, it’d actually be a great idea to hide your treasures from guys like him in a swamp. However,  before any further thought on that could be given, The Thief suddenly felt something cold and heavy wrap it’s way around his leg, snagging tightly. The force of the pull caused the thief to slip to the ground with a surprised shout, biting his tongue as his chin collided with the ground, briefcase flying out of his hands and sliding through the slick muck. Jack spun around in surprise at his cry. The Thief pushed himself up to his elbows, as he turned to see what caused him to fall; there was a chain wrapped around his ankle, the rest of it leading far off into the swamps.  

 

“What The Fu-” The Thief was cut of by the sound of his own scream as he was jerked back and dragged away, barely hearing Jack call out his name as he was pulled into the swamp water. He thrashed against the current as he reached into his coat, fumbling around for something that could help him out of this. Pliers? The pair he had on him couldn’t cut through iron chains. Oil? He doubted that he could use that to slip out while underwater. His felt his lungs burn from the lack of oxygen as he tore through desperately, trying to find something as he was pulled towards the surface. His hands brushed against his smoke pellets, and he yanked them out, clutching them in his hands. He was ripped through the water like a fish on a hook, and dropped to the ground unceremoniously. The Thief shakily pushed himself up, spitting out a mouthful of murky swamp water, when he felt a cold hand clench his shoulder roughly. With a snarl, he spun around and threw the smoke pellets at his attacker, releasing a thick smog. He heard his attacker yell as he let go of his shoulder, falling back into the smoke. The Thief felt the chain around his leg go lax, and he quickly freed himself from it, his feet scraping against the slippery ground beneath him as he tried to stand up. As he got up, a metal hand swung just a hair away from him, grasping accompanied with a furious growl. The Thief gasped, suppressing a cough from the smoke he involuntarily inhaled and dashing away from it. He fumbled through the smoke, shielding his eyes. He had a pair of visors for a situation like this, but they were in his briefcase…!  

 

“You can’t hide from me, you little twig!” A voice bombed. the voice was deep, strained from the smoke, and was followed by heavy stomps getting closer and closer. The Thief started rummaging through his coat again, pulling out a switchblade knife. He turned to where the stomping was coming from, a large silhouette coming into view as the attacker revealed himself. A man more machine than he was flesh, his left arm and entire lower lower body were robotic, his dark hair pulled back into a low bun with a thick beard, his right eye, a red optic with a small black dot twitching down to focus on the Thief. The Thief took a step back, eyes wide at the intimidating spectacle. He broke eye contact with him, and he thrusted his blade forwards to . his right side, the only part of him still human. The cyborg’s flesh hand shot forward, clenching the Thief’s wrist painfully as he twisted it downwards. Before the Thief could use his free hand to reach for another gizmo, the cyborg’s robotic arm launched itself forward, his gigantic hand wrapping crushingly around the Thief’s neck. His mind froze and he brought up his hands to clench the arm, pawing at it uselessly as he was lifted into the air. 

 

“So who’s it gonna be Samurai? You? Or your buddy here?!”  The bounty hunter called out into the swamps. 

 

The Thief strained against his grip, kicking his legs out uselessly as his felt himself starting to grow dizzy, the trees around him beginning to spin and the buzzing and croaks of  insects and toads melting into a quiet fuzzy sound.  That’s when there was a fierce scream, and Jack flew down from the canopy above them, swinging his sword down onto the cyborg’s shoulder, where his cybernetic attachment began. The bounty hunter let out a shocked yelp of pain as the prosthetic was disconnected, and with it, the red haired man fell to the ground. He rested on his hands and knees, bringing a hand up to his bruised throat, hacking and wheezing as air once again filled his lungs. He slowly brought his head up to see the cyborg take a mighty swing at Jack with his remaining arm, which Jack moved under to dodge, spinning to his left side and slashing his sword through the cyborg’s torso. Jack turned quickly on his heel, leaping towards the Thief and embracing him to roll them away from the explosion that followed. The two men laid on the ground for a moment, Jack shielding the bony man with his body as metal debris shot around them. Jack hesitantly brought himself up a little to look at the damage, and seeing that it was now safe, he sat up, placing his hands on Thief’s shoulders to bring him up with him.  

 

“Are you alright?” Jack asked, his voice filled with concern. 

 

“Fine-” The Thief forced out, breathy and exhausted. “I’m fine.”  

 

Jack helped the shaking man up to his feet.  

 

“Guess we’re even now.” Thief noted. 

 

“I still would have saved your life if you hadn’t saved mine before.” Jack responded. 

 

The Thief snorted. “My hero.” 

 

Jack looked around, confused. “Was that… sarcasm again?” 

 

“You’re too fun not to mess with.” Thief remarked, the cocky smile returning to his face. “But seriously, uh… thanks… for, uh… for that.” He avoided eye contact while saying that, feeling the tips of his ears grow hot. “Oh, did you happen to get my-” 

 

Before he could finish, Jack pulled the Thief’s briefcase from his back, which had been put into it’s place with a white sash, assumingly from Jack’s gi. 

 

“Oh, thank god.” Thief sighed, relieved as he took his briefcase in his hands. 

 

“Yes, I was able to get this as well.” Jack pulled up the Thief’s hat, which sagged as it was drenched with swamp water. The Thief blinked twice, and looked down at himself to see his suit completely covered in the wet muck. He let out a loud and long groan.


	5. Rule Five

The Thief was a professional. He didn’t make friends, because you never know when that friend will stick a knife in your back.

 

 

“You know, You’d fit in pretty great here.” The Thief remarked, as a canvas wagon trailed by him. “Looks like everybody here is from the past too.”  

 

The Thief hadn’t expected to find much in this place; all rocky and dry land, sand and dust blowing about with the sun biting hard on your back and the only green for miles being the occasional cactus, but instead they happened upon a charming little backwater, so charming that the Thief was already tempted to start dropping his “ing”s with each word ending with such.  

 

“That isn’t funny.” Jack looked down at Thief, eyes narrowed and voice sharp.

 

“I know, we gotta find time portals for these drips too!” The Thief threw his arms in the air, with feigned irritation, before eyeing Jack with a lopsided grin.  

 

Jack let out a frustrated growl, and picked up his pace to create distance between himself and the red haired joker. The Thief rolled his eyes, and caught a glance of a stand where an old farmer was selling apples. He waited for someone to approach the stand to buy, then walked forward, deftly grabbing a pair without stopping and slipping them into his coat, and making his way back to Jack’s side. He whistled to get his attention and tossed him an apple. Jack caught it, looking it over for a moment, and looked back up at the Thief with a raised eyebrow.

 

“ _Relax,_ Pajamas. I bought them.” He affirmed, biting into the apple.  

 

Jack pursed his lips. “That quickly?” He asked.

 

“After everything we’ve been through you still don’t trust me?” He looked down at his feet, placing a hand in his pocket. “You know, I thought things between us were going so well...”  

 

Jack blinked, concern washing over his face. “Please don’t misunderstand, I-” Jack started, only to be interrupted by Thief’s laughter.

 

“Ok, I take it back, we haven’t been through enough together if you still can’t tell when I’m messing with you.”

 

“You take very little seriously.”

 

“That’s one thing you really grasp about me, huh?”  

 

Jack gave an exasperated sigh, squeezing his temple. “There’s no point in saying anything

With any meaning to you, is there?” With that, he tossed the apple back at the Thief, who fumbled to catch it, and turned to walk into the town’s saloon.  

 

Thief couldn’t particularly imagine Jack drinking anything alcoholic. He seemed too straight laced to him for that; the fact that he was deciding to drink now seemed a little overdramatic. But even so, Thief felt a sense of guilt clench at his gut as he stood there alone.

 

He snorted at this newfound sense. “I’ve been spending too much time around that…” Thief felt the words catch in his mouth, hot shame spreading throughout his body. “...Since when did I get a conscious?” He asked himself, slipping the apples into the bag of a woman passing by, he followed after the samurai.  

 

The Thief was caught off guard by just how crowded the saloon was. He was barely able to hear the ragtime jingle over all the chatter, laughter, and bickering. The Thief pushed himself up on his heels slightly, trying to see if he could pick out Jack when a burly brick of a man grazed Thief’s shoulder, pushing him out of the way of the saloon’s doors and nearly knocking him over. The Thief grabbed the table beside him to regain his balance.

 

“Hey, watch it schmuck!”

The Thief’s insult fell on deaf ears as a trail of other behemoths of men passed by, following their leader’s trail, spurs on heavy boots jingling against the wooden floor. The Thief then felt oddly thankful that they had paid no mind to what he had said.

 

The Thief pushed himself back up, as a hush began to overcome the saloon. Every patron had their eyes fixed on the shady group. The Thief had a sinking feeling that they weren’t there to grab drinks; he went back to scanning the crowd, trying to find Jack to drag him out of there.  

 

“So, you’re Samurai Jack, huh?” The Thief held back a curse as he turned towards the thick and heavily accented voice, and found Jack alone at a table in a back corner, a tiny, wooden cup in his hands, it’s contents letting off steam. He looked up at the giant cowboy before him, an irritated glare directed towards him.  

 

The man let out a loud guffaw, looking back to his posse. “He’s the one Aku wants to get his hands on so bad? _This_ dainty little’ thing? Why, he looks like he just rolled out of bed, not from a fight!”   

 

The Thief felt his head begin to buzz and muscles tense.

“Nah, with his hair done up that nice, and in that _dress?_ I reckon he’s waiting for a date!” One of his mooks added, and the group bellowed with laughter.

 

The Thief gritted his teeth, fists clenching and turned to poke his head outside. There along the hitching rail was a line of giant boar, snorting and kicking against the dirt. Those definitely weren’t there before these creeps came in. He stepped out, taking out his switchblade knife and cutting through their reins. They started to shuffle away from the railing, snorting loudly as they tested their freedom, and just for extra measure, he pulled out a stun grenade from his coat, covered his eyes, and threw it against the ground. This sent the boars into a squealing panic, as they bolted away in all directions. The Thief quickly made his way back inside, and saw the ring leader leaned in on the table, hands on opposite corners, his nose just about to press against Jack’s.

 

“Now listen, Aku’s willing to throw out a pretty penny for bringing in your hide, so what do you say we do this the easy way, and-”

 

The Thief interrupted the threat by placing two fingers into his mouth and whistling sharply. The attention was on him now, and he casually placed a hand in his pocket, leaning to his right against the wall and gesturing with a nod outside.

 

“Are those pigs yours?” He asked, not even bothering to hide the sly smirk. “If that’s the case, you should _probably_ go get them under control.”

 

The posse all shot glances at each other, and made their way to look out the saloon doors, finding their rides had split up, all heading for seperate ways out of the town. They all let out panicked and ran out after them. The Thief laughed loudly at their misfortune, sauntering over to Jack, who looked up at him with wide eyes.

 

“That was your doing?” Jack asked.

 

“You’re welcome.” Thief responded, grinning with self satisfaction as he took a seat across from Jack, crossing his legs and leaning back. “ _Jeez,_ what creeps. I betcha those bozos aren’t gonna be running their mouths like that anymore, right? I mean-”

 

“What they were saying to me bothered you?” Jack interrupted, his tone surprised. The Thief paused, locking eyes with Jack.

 

“Well, you see…” He started, fumbling with his words. “I just… You know they weren’t even… I mean-” Jack leaned forward slightly, waiting for the Thief to finish. The Thief felt his face grow hot, and he quickly rested his elbow on the table as so he could place his hand on his face, looking away from Jack. “The only one allowed to mess with you is me." He spurted out with an attempt to regain his normally confident tone, avoiding eye contact.

 

Jack gained his own self satisfactory grin, as he brought the cup up to his lips. “Thank you, my friend.” He said, sipping his drink.  

 

A friend? Thief felt a warm sense of giddiness wash over him now, as he unintentionally straightened himself up, starting in surprise. Man, he’d been spending way too much time with Jack...


	6. Rule Six

The Thief was a professional. He had over twenty different aliases all around the world and guarded his true identity like a starving dog would guard a scrap of meat.

 

The Thief found Jack not too far from their campsite. He was standing next to a tree at the edge of a ravine, staring up at the night sky, woven with constellations. He walked over to his side, hands in his pockets.

 

“Couldn’t sleep?” He kept his voice to a whisper, as to not startle Jack.  

 

“No.” He whispered back, his gaze still focused to the skies.

 

“...You’re brooding again.” The Thief pointed out, plain as day.

 

“I am not.” Jack turned to him, a hint of offense in his voice.

 

“Listen”, Thief took the toothpick out of his mouth, flicking it into the ravine. “we’ve known each other enough to drop the whole stone hard hero act, right? So just… tell me what’s up.”

 

Rather than looking up to the skies, Jack stared down into the ravine. The Thief took a glance down too. It went a long ways down, and the moon wasn’t doing much to show what was at the bottom, if there even was one. He swallowed, taking a step away from it. Jack didn’t move.

 

“My true name is Ryouichi.” Jack said this with hesitation, uncertainty even. “I came here to try and remember it. I have been here so long… I had forgotten what my name was.”  

 

The Thief shifted awkwardly, mouth slightly agape. How was he supposed to respond to something like that?

 

“It’s becoming difficult for me to remember who I was. Where I came from. Who was with me…” His voice became thick, as he closed his eyes. He clenched his free hand tightly, the other on the hilt of the sword hanging from his hip.  

 

“Well…” The Thief scratched his beard, trying to come up with something, anything to say. “Can you… list off what you remember?”  

 

Jack furrowed his brow, concentrating hard.

 

“There… was a balcony overlooking all the land. I would rest my chin on the ledge and look down at everything… it was so beautiful…”

 

Jack paused a moment, then continued. “My father was a serious man, but… he would be gentle and playful towards me. My favorite game was when I would pretend to battle him, I as the hero and him as the villain.”

 

The Thief tried to picture Jack’s father, and saw a tall scowling man with his arms folded, his son standing beside him, his chest puffed and lips pursed in an attempt to imitate him.

 

“And My mother loved to tell stories. She would tell me one every night, and she never seemed to run short on them. I believe she might have made up some of those stories herself.”

 

The Thief imagined Jack’s mother as a small but sleek and slender woman, with strands of grey in her hair and a witty smirk on her face as she mystified her son with heroic tales and wild fantasies.

 

“I miss them terribly…” Jack opened his eyes now, slowly, and brought up a hand to wipe at them, not facing the red haired man beside him. “Thank you. This was helpful.”

 

“Don’t, uh… don’t mention it.” The Thief said, patting a hand on Jack’s shoulder, dumbfounded by the whole situation.   

 

“May I ask you another question?” Jack turned his head slightly, still not facing the Thief fully.

 

“Shoot.” Thief responded, waving out a hand.

 

“What was you home like?”  

 

Home. Thief hadn’t thought about home in years. He’d blocked it off, just letting it rot away in the back corner of his mind, but the mention of it set all the memories lose, their decaying and oozing forms spreading through him.

 

The Thief considered lying for a moment, but Jack had just poured his heart and soul out to him… That’d seem a bit cruel, when put in perspective. He couldn’t believe how much Jack’s morals and sensitivity rubbed off on him.

 

“It was…” He swallowed thickly. “Just a spot in a city.” He pulled another toothpick from his coat and began to chew on it, eyes shifting.  “Yeah… It wasn’t too great of a place. Left when I was seventeen, never looked back.”  

 

“I left home at a young age as well.” Jack reflected. He brushed his hand along the hilt of his sword, free hand fidgeting. “What of your family…?”   

 

There was the big one. Thief felt guilt rising up in his stomach already. “It was just me and my mom.” His voice dropped low. “Don’t know who my dad was.” He quickly pulled the toothpick from his mouth, turning to jack and pointing it at him. “Don’t get me wrong, my mom was really a great lady. She did everything she could for us… anything she could. But… where we were from, there was only so much a lady could…” He trailed off, voice caught in his throat, now staring down in the ravine.

 

“You were poor.” Jack finished.

 

“I don’t need pity. I got out, didn’t I?” The Thief snapped, but in a strange way, it felt like he was saying it more to himself.

 

Jack waited for a moment, trying to decide if it was safe for him to continue the conversation.

 

“Why did you leave?” He finally asked.

 

“Didn’t think there was anything there for me. There really wasn’t.” Thief remarked, still staring downwards.  

 

“What of your mother?”  

 

The Thief couldn’t stop the memory of the last time he saw his mother. He had crept out of his bedroom, a torn and weathered brown suitcase in his hands, when he saw the door to her room just slightly ajar. For a moment he saw her, sitting on the side of her bed, wide awake at midnight. Her disheveled and curly hair hanging limply over her shoulders, a set of bruises littering her shoulders and neck as she counted and recounted a wad of cash in her trembling and skeletal hands, tears dripping down her cheeks. The teenaged boy turned away, his face bearing an exhausted emptiness as he continued his way out the door.

 

“I don’t call her as much as I should...” his voice shook, and he took in a hitched breath. Embarrassed, he turned his head fully away from Jack, blinking away the mist obscuring his vision. He felt a warm and calloused hand brush against his arm.

“I am honored that you trust me enough to tell me this.” Jack said, his voice serious, yet empathetic. “Should you ever feel the need to speak of it again, you may speak with me. In turn… I won’t avoid talking about things with you.”  

 

The Thief couldn’t stop the deep and shuddering breath that left him, as he scrunched his shoulders up.

 

“Thief…?” Jack took a step closer.

 

“Nick.”

 

“...I’m sorry?”

 

The Thief turned this time, his hat tilted up, allowing Jack to see his eyes, rimmed with red.

 

“Name’s Nick Cooney.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, breaking eye contact nervously. “You know, if we’re gonna do this whole… honesty thing, I figured… I got your real name, you get mine.”  

 

Jack stared a moment, eyes wide with surprise before bowing. “Thank you, Nick.”  

 

“Same to you, Ryouichi.” The Thief paused a moment, letting out a soft laugh. “Ryouichi. Man, that doesn’t really roll off the tongue.”

 

“Neither does Nick.” Jack came back with a small smile. “But… it does suit you.”

 

The Thief shrugged, eyes hooded with an awkward grin.

 

“It’s late. Should we be heading back?” Jack asked, nodding his head towards the campsite.

 

“You go ahead, I’ll be there in a minute.”  

 

Jack nodded, heading back for his tent. The Thief took one last glance up at the night sky, and made a note to call his mother the next day.


	7. Rule Seven

The Thief was a professional. His priority was his work, and he’d stay focused on that job no matter what. There was no time for distractions.

 

 

“They’re searching for us.” Jack whispered to the Thief, reaching to hold on to the branch above him.

 

“They’re doing a crappy job then.” The Thief responded with a self assured smirk.

 

Jack and the Thief were close to reaching the end of the woodlands they were passing through, as suggested by the thinning vegetation, when they were met by the familiar sound of whirring and clacking metal. The two men took shelter high up in the trees, and watched the small swarm of beetle drones circle around the area.

 

“Come on, we can slip by them.” Thief waved a hand to Jack, getting his line-launcher ready.

 

Jack was silent, gripping his sword, scowling down at the drones.  

 

“...Jack?”

 

Jack turned his piercing gaze back to the Thief.

 

“These machines do not care who they tear down. So long as they still function, they will be a threat to countless innocents .”

 

“Jack, I’m not letting you kill yourself on a what-if! Just let this one go!” The Thief waved a hand towards Jack again, becoming frustrated.

 

Jack continued his glare down upon the beetle drones, taking his hand from the branch above it, and placing both on his hilt and sheath.

 

“Jack…” Thief started. “Jack, Jack, don’t you dare-” Thief saw light reflected off of Jack’s blade as it began to peek itself out. “Don’t you dare, don’t you-!” Jack suddenly lept from the branch, screaming with righteous fury as he fell down towards the swarm.

 

“JACK, YOU-” The Thief slapped a hand on his head, letting out an annoyed groan as he instead aimed his line-launcher towards a lower branch on a tree diagonal to him, a spot that would bring him closer to the fighting. He spared Jack one last glance, whom had already torn through two of the drones. He rolled his eyes.

“He _better_ appreciate what I do for him.”

 

With that, he fired the line launched and swung down the trees, setting his briefcase to the machine gun, using the line to swing around the branch and onto the ground, opening fire on a pair of drones attempting to flank Jack. Jack spun around to face the Thief.

 

“I got your back, Pajamas!”

 

“I hadn’t doubted you would!”

 

If Jack had said something like this to the Thief before their reluctant team up, if he told the Thief that he enjoyed having him around, that he trusted him, that he considered him a friend, the Thief would have laughed in his face about how much of an idiot he was steal his wallet; but now, The Thief felt a warm swell in his chest and pride whenever Jack would say anything nice about him. In fact, the Thief’s perception of Jack had done a total 180 after all their time together. Jack’s selflessness and courage was now inspirational rather than stupid, his kindness and strict moral code made him admirable instead of boring, and Jack’s naivety, willingness to trust, and how easily confused he was rather… adorable. Thief had noticed just how cute his companion was. Either way, the Thief now felt honored that Jack thought so highly of him. Granted, there were times where he wished Jack would think other things about him, but that was beside the point.   

 

“Oh, nice one!” The Thief yelled, watching Jack jump over a pair of charging drones as they smashed into one another. He himself then produced a stun grenade, tossing it at a cluster making their way towards him and firing in their blinding state.

 

“You’re doing proficiently as well!” Jack responded, dodging a set of steel limbs attempting to stab at him, plunging his sword into the underbelly of the upright standing beetle drone.

 

“Pfft, flatterer.” The Thief tilted his nose up to Jack, grinning playfully, when From behind Jack another drone leapt forward for an attack.

 

The Thief saw them before Jack did, and pulled out his line-launcher and firing. The cable wrapped around the drone, and the Thief was pulled closer to it, shooting at it all the while. He found himself by Jack’s side again, and he moved to press his back to his and shooting at another drone. Jack saw before him the last remaining bots before him, a group of three. His eyes narrowed, and he reached behind him, grabbing the smaller man and yanking him to his side, his hand pressing over where Thief held the trigger and opened fire on them. They fell to the ground, and the two men stood panting for a moment, smoke blowing off of the barrel of the machine gun. Jack turned his gaze down to the Thief, and noticed how close he was holding the Thief to him, and how the his hand was still resting on top of the other’s. Jack quickly pulled away, stepping back to put distance between himself and the boney red-head.

 

“I am so sorry, that was very spur of the moment, I only-” But Jack found himself interrupted by one last beetle drone they missed ramming into and slashing at him. Jack cried out, partly in surprise, partly in pain.

 

“Jack!” The Thief yelped.

 

Jack stumbled back, but then regain his footing, bringing himself up to a straightened stance. His glare was intense and his face bearing no fear, giving the illusion he stood even taller than he really was, his silky raven hair falling loose and flowing with the wind. The Thief lifted up his hat as to see Jack better, Jack reached up his hand to tear off the tattered remains of the upper half of his gi, teeth bared. Thief felt his toothpick fall out of his mouth, gawking at the muscled contours of Jack’s lean body, a sheen of sweat creating a shining effect and the oil from the fallen drones splattered on his gi, hands, and across his face suggesting that he was no force to reckoned with. a half and open mouthed smile cracking across his face, and he placed two fingers in his mouth to produce a sharp wolf whistle. Jack turned to face the red haired man, still with a cocky grin on his face. Jack’s expression transitioned to a wide eyed and flushed one, and looked like he was going to say something when the beetle drone pounced on top of him.

 

“Oh shit!” The Thief quickly shouted, voice strained as he aimed his barrell to the metal monstrosity and fired rapidly into its sides. Jack pushed it off of him, and Thief scurried to Jack’s side to help him up.

 

“You good?” Thief asked, before turning his attention back to Jack’s chest, resisting the urge to gape.

 

“I-It looks bad, but it is not deep.” Jack returned, letting himself believe that the thief was staring at the long and narrow gashes, scratches and bruises from the beetle drone’s last stand.

 

“What?” The Thief asked, looking up at Jack. “Oh! Oh yeah, good.” He swallowed, his gaze returning back down. “Good…”

 

The two stood in a nervous silence as they broke away from looking at each other, aside from the sneaking glances, when Jack pointed behind him.

 

“There was… a river over there.” He related awkwardly. “I need to wash this off…” He turned on his heel before Thief could say anything else, speeding away.

The Thief sighed, turning away from the direction Jack went and realized how overheated he felt from that battle. He shed his jacket, placing it to the side as he pulled his tie loose and unbuttoned the black dress shirt beneath. He tied both together around his waist, now in just a black, sleeveless undershirt, taking his hat from his head to fan his face. He closed his eyes, enjoying the cool breeze over his back, when he started to feel a different kind of heat on top of it. He turned his head to see Jack behind him, free of oil, staring, distracted and still.  

 

“What, you see something you like or something?” The Thief asked, arms out in a bit of a shrug.

 

The focus suddenly returned to Jack’s eyes, a faint rose tint spreading across his cheeks, his head snapping up and his shoulders shrugging upwards.

 

“I did not mean to stare!” His voice came out louder than both he and the Thief had anticipated, Jack lowered himself down, bringing a fist to his mouth and coughing.  

 

The Thief snickered smugly. “Listen, I know I’m damn near irresistible, but it’s just my arms, control yourself.”  

 

“I just never noticed the… the freckles.”

 

Thief blinked, looking down at his left arm with a sideways glance. His arms, shoulders, and back were peppered with thousands of little copper colored spots.

 

“Oh yeah?” Thief asked, looking back up at Jack.

 

“Yes, they are…” Jack was now avoiding eye contact, one hand fumbling with the hilt of his sword while the other fussed with his gi. “I find them… endearing. I believe that’s the right word.”

 

The Thief clucked his tongue, raising an eyebrow. “that’s _all_ you were staring at?”  

 

“Yes…? What are you-” Jack suddenly paused, the light pink hue over his face turning to red. He gaped, letting out a few flustered stammers, sputtering out “I need to go repair my gi!” and he turned on his heel, speed walking away.

 

The Thief laughed, shaking his head. “Adorable.” He said to himself, as he placed his hat back on his head and followed after.


	8. Rule Eight

The Thief was a professional. He could have a warm body every once in awhile, but never anything further. 

 

It had reached the point to where Thief was getting a tad irritated waiting for Jack to make a move on him; He felt like he had been doing all the work as of late. 

 

He had tried everything. The Thief complimented his appearance and praised his actions, he got him little treats and trinkets that he promised he definitely did not steal, he would sling an arm around his shoulder and get close to him whenever he had the chance, he even resorted to the awkward teenager tactic of brushing his hand against the other man’s. But what was Jack’s response? He would invent any possible explanation as to why the Thief would be doing such things in a completely platonic, non-flirtatious way; granted, Jack wasn’t as subtle as he liked to think he was. The Thief had noticed how many glances Jack would try to sneak glances at him, how he had started walking so close by his side, how flustered the samurai would become when the Thief initiated his said flirting, and how fiercely he would protect the Thief in battle, followed by a generous amount of fussing after. Now the Thief was just waiting, albeit reluctantly, for was for the other man to stop dragging his feet and actually return the affection. The Thief was starting to think that if Aku’s goons didn’t kill him, this romantic tension would. 

 

Jack’s journey had led them to a grassy plain, filled with tall, green hills and littered with wildflowers, which, if not for the tall and itching grass, the disgusting amount of pollen in the air, the never ending uphill climbs and all the damn fox and prairie dog holes that only the Thief seemed to trip into, it might have been kind of pleasant. That, and the fact it began pouring rain on them while they were stranded out in the middle of nowhere.  

 

Fortunately, prepared as he was, the Thief had a setting for an umbrella in his briefcase; better yet, it really was only meant for one person, meaning Jack had to huddle close in by his side to avoid getting wet.  

 

“Well, this is cozy.” The Thief pointed out, not even bothering to hide the satisfied smirk. 

 

Jack looked down at the Thief, suddenly realizing their shoulders were touching. “O-Oh! Forgive me, it is only rain, I’ll give you some room.”  

 

Before the Thief could protest, Jack had already hurriedly moved ahead, holding his arms together as he made his way up another tall dune. Thief concluded that it wasn’t that big of a loss, considering now he had a full view behind Jack as his clothes were drenched in water and stuck to his skin, strands of hair beginning to slip from his top knot.  

 

Upon reaching the top of the grass covered slope, Jack suddenly turned and waved a hand to Thief. Thief picked up the pace to join him by his side, and Jack pointed downwards, revealing the ruins of a small town, surrounded by gradients below them. 

 

“We can take shelter down there!” Jack said, and the two made their way down. 

 

They set up a small fire pit in what they believed to be an old church, just in time too, as the rain had picked up into a heavy thunderstorm. Thief whistled at the downpour on the dingey windows.  

 

“Lucky this place just happened to be here, right?” The Thief said, turning to the man behind him. To the red haired man’s delight Jack’s gi was open and he was wringing out his water soaked hair, now hanging loosely. 

 

“Yes.” Came the response. “Yet, it feels somber here. These ruins… they remind me of my old world.” 

 

“Try not to worry too much.” Thief suggested, sauntering over to the fire. “We’re gonna get you home, I know it.” 

 

“That is comforting, to say the least.” Jack sat down next to Thief, and they watched the fire crackle and spit embers.  “I know I do not belong here, but even so, part of me will miss this future.”  

 

“Yeah? What’s that?” 

 

Jack froze up a little at that question. “I… I have made many friends here.” Thief couldn’t help but feel disappointed by that answer. “Such as you.” 

 

The Thief still found it in himself to chuckle. “Man, we’ve come a loooong way since that pyramid fiasco, haven’t we?” 

 

“I still don’t think you are any different than you were then, in a sense.” 

 

“Yeah, once a smartass, always a smartass.” 

 

“No.” Jack corrected. “You’ve always been a good man.” 

 

Thief was caught off guard by this. “A good man?” He echoed. 

 

“You could have left me behind in there, yet you came back.” Jack explained. “Only someone who had good in their hearts would do that, wouldn’t they?”

 

Thief thought back to the pyramid. Despite a voice screaming in his head to just leave him behind and collect his pay, he still went back for him. Truth be told, he avoided hurting other people as much as he could on his jobs. He guessed he’d always been soft like that. 

 

“I only did it cause you’re cute.” The Thief opted to lie, lacing humor onto it.

 

Jack made a surprised coughing sound, looking away from the Thief. “V-Very funny.” He said. “But… you shouldn’t deny it.” 

 

“No way, I got a reputation to keep as a heartless, greedy backstabber. That way, people would actually hire me.”  

 

“Well, then I suppose work will come slow then.” Jack gave the Thief a sassy look, as the Thief burst out into laughter. 

 

“You’re a fun guy, you know that?” The Thief asked.

 

“You as well.” Jack responded. He waited for a moment, looking down into the fire. “Uh… I am... truly grateful for the time we have spent together. I only wish that we did not need Aku to have come to be so close.” Jack’s face fell at the last addition. By this point, that had happened almost months ago, and he still felt guilty about it? The Thief snorted; hero types. So typical.

 

“Hey, if it took getting blacklisted by that mook for us to partner up, so be it. I wouldn’t trade this for anything.” The Thief paused for a moment. “Well, maybe for some things..” 

 

“You are insufferable!” Jack retorted, but with no anger in his voice, only laughter as he gave the boney man a shove.

 

“Ah shut up, you know you love me.”  The Thief waved his hand at Jack dismissively, with a am smile that read the utmost confidence in his statement as he turned his head to look forward, away from Jack. 

 

Jack’s laughter suddenly died down and silence fell over the two men. The Thief allowed it to linger for a moment, waiting for Jack to say something, but instead Jack briskly leaned to the Thief’s side, pecking him on the cheek and pulling away just as fast. The Thief instantly snapped his attention back to Jack, who looked dreadfully shocked that the Thief had even noticed his chaste kiss.

 

“Oh-” Jack’s face erupted with color. “I-I should have first asked if I could even do that, I realize how sudden that was, forgive me-”  

 

The Thief let Jack ramble on for a moment, face dropping as eyes hooded and brow furrowed while the samurai tripped over himself in an attempt to apologize. 

 

“-I only wanted to express, how I… how I feel about you, how I have been feeling for quite some time now, so in retrospect I should have asked, ‘may I kiss you’?”

 

Thief rolled his eyes with a scoff, and took ahold of Jack’s gi with both hands, tugging him forward as so their lips could meet. Jack’s entire body tensed and at first barely responded to the kiss, but slowly and surely, he returned it, all but melting as he brought one arm around the Thief’s waist to pull him closer, and the other placed on the back of his neck as to hold him there. Thief broke away to allow the two to breath, pressing his forehead to Jack’s. 

 

“You ask some stupid questions sometimes, you know that?” He commented, and Jack leaned in to initiate another kiss. Grinning through the kiss, the Thief moved his arms to wrap around Jack’s shoulders, boney legs moving to do the same around his waist, pulling Jack down on top of him.


	9. Rule Nine

The Thief was a professional. Feelings for anyone, family, friends, a lover especially just made things complicated. It’s best to avoid catching them all together.

 

“Have you ever been with… other men…?” Jack suddenly asked. 

 

The Thief looked back at him, seeing the taller man fumble with his hands, his lip pursed. 

 

“Why?” Thief asked, stepping forward, leaning in close and gazing teasingly at his newfound partner. “You the jealous type?” 

 

“W-Well, I had just been thinking about us and our… r-relationship and the nature of it.” Jack eyes were now darting around to anywhere but the red haired man in front of him. 

 

“Hey, you know I only got eyes for you.” The Thief affirmed, giving Jack a shove, grinning playfully. 

 

“No, that’s not what I-” Jack’s face was turning pink again, which is exactly what the Thief was going for. “I just want to know if you’ve always been attracted to men.” 

 

“Oh.” Thief blinked, then looked back up to Jack and laughed. “You know, you could’ve just asked me which way I swung.” 

 

“...swung…?” Jack tilted his head to the side. 

 

The Thief laughed again. “Yeah, Pajamas. I’ve always been into guys, I’m gay.” 

 

“That word-” Recognition sparked in Jack’s eyes. “I had heard it used but I was not clear on it’s meaning.”

 

“Is that what brought this up?” The Thief asked. 

 

“Not necessarily… you see, I don’t… I don’t believe that I’m that.” 

 

“Not what? Gay?” 

 

“Yes, You see, I am happy with you, but throughout my life I find that I felt as though I could be as happy with a man as I would be a woman. Both…” He paused a moment. “T-The only way I can explain is… both ideas felt… right.”  

 

“So you’re bi.” The Thief confirmed. 

 

“Bye?” Jack asked. “I am… not going anywhere.”

 

The Thief laughed. “No doll, that’s slang for bisexual. Means you like both; girls and boys I mean.” 

 

Jack’s jaw dropped, and slowly spread into a grin as his eyes lit up. 

 

“There’s a word for it?” He asked, a tremor of excitement in his hushed voice.  

 

The Thief let out another laugh. 

 

“I swear man, you’re like a puppy. No matter how many times you do stuff like this, it never gets old.”  

 

Jack’s chest puffed out, beaming with pride as he repeated the word bisexual to himself. Thief smiled back, happy for his lover’s discovery, and looked ahead. They had made it to their destination; A large town, almost enough to be considered a city, resting upon the sands of a beach and boardwalks beside the ocean. It was an ideal place for trade ships to land their goods, making it an ideal place to catch a boat across the sea. There seemed to be a lot more commotion than the Thief had anticipated, laughter and cheering, colorful banners and ribbons flew with the wind, the boardwalk and beach were covered in flower petals, and in the distance music was playing. 

 

“It seems they’re having some kind of celebration.” Jack pointed out, reaching up a hand to stroke his chin. 

 

The Thief looked around, noticing an elderly man close by. 

 

“Hey, buddy.” Thief said, stepping forward. “My friend and I aren’t from around here. Mind telling us what’s going on?” 

 

“It’s a wedding.” The old man informed. “The entire community around here gets involved in them.”  

 

“And you guys do this everytime someone gets married?” Thief asked. 

 

“Well, what’s not to celebrate about love?” He asked with a shrug and a smile, turning away to the boardwalk. 

 

“I wonder what they do when there’s a divorce.” Thief said to himself. 

 

Jack didn’t respond, just looked ahead to the boardwalk. “I do not see any ships. Perhaps we came too early?” 

 

“Well...” The Thief looked over to the boardwalk, confirming what Jack said was true. “Wanna take a look around to kill some time? See what’s going on?” 

 

“I see no harm in that.” Jack said, smiling down at the Thief. 

 

They first hit the vendors at the boardwalk, who had slashed their prices down to nothing in occasion of the wedding. The Thief cracked a joke about not even having to steal anything that time around, and nabbed the sweetest pastry he could find. He gave it took Jack, and laughed hysterically as he choked on how much sugar was in it. Fortunately, Jack saw a tea vendor close by and grabbed a cup to wash it down. When the Thief mentioned he had never tried tea, Jack offered him a cup. The Thief took a sip, and spat it out in disgust, causing an eruption of laughter from Jack.

 

Some of the locals there recognized Jack, the children asking for autographs. Jack painted his family’s emblem on their papers as the Thief leaned against a boardwalk post, rolling his toothpick between his fingers, waiting for Jack to finish. As what Thief believed to be the last child ran off, a young woman stepped forward with dark, thick curly hair and tanned skin, flowers braided into her hair. She clasped her hands in front of her shyly as she thanked Jack for everything he had done for this world and the people in it. Jack started going on about how it was his honor to do so, and Thief took note of how close she was getting. With that, he felt his chest tighten and he bit his lip, flicking his toothpick in the water. He stepped forward, slinging an arm around Jack’s shoulder and pressing a kiss against his cheek. 

 

“Almost done, Doll?” He asked in the sweetest and most lovesick voice he could muster.

 

The young woman got the hint, smiling apologetically at the Thief, who waved a forgiving hand at her. Jack seemed confused by the whole affair, as the Thief dragged Jack away, shooting one last suspicious look at the girl while her back was turned.

 

Jack had taken off his shoes to walk around in the water for a moment, a relaxed and blissful look on his face as the saltwater washed over his ankles. The Thief perched himself on a rock, his gloves off and in his pocket as he fanned himself with his hat. He zoned out a moment, when he felt water hit his shoes. He made a surprised and irritated sound, looking up to see that Jack had splashed water at him, and was beckoning him to join him in the shallow waters. The Thief smiled deviously as he took off his jacket and dress shirt, pulling off his socks and shoes and rolling up his pants as he walked into the water, Jack smiling unassumingly when the Thief suddenly rammed into him, knocking him down into the water. The Thief laughed and pointed, but his joy was short lived as Jack grabbed his wrist and pulled him down on top of him, rolling over as to completely soak both of them. The Thief shot up, gasping for air and grabbing his arms as response to the cold shock of the ocean water. Jack sat up, a large smile on his face as his hair hung over his face like a mop, dripping water. The Thief let out a laugh, knocking Jack over again. 

 

It was starting to get late when the bride and groom, whom neither had actually seen up to this point started their slow dance, and a hush fell over the crowd as the people circled around to watch. The Thief noted the bride was holding her husband the wrong way, and the husband would frequently step on her toes. Their movements were awkward, like neither knew which way to turn, but even so they still were gazing at each other lovingly. The Thief scoffed, swirling his drink with his toothpick. 

 

“Man, who taught these guys to dance?” Thief whispered, smirking judgmently. “Not to mention it’s probably the easiest dance a schmuck could do.”

 

“Perhaps you can show me how then.” Jack said, turning his body to the boney man. “ if we ever married.” 

 

The Thief spat out his drink, lurching forward and coughing violently.  

 

“I-It’s a little- A little early to be thinking about  _ that _ , don’t you think?!” He sputtered, face 

growing hot. 

 

“It’s not such a bad thought, is it?” Jack asked, his face bearing similarity to that of a kicked dog. 

 

“Uh, well…” The Thief stepped back, leaning against a post of the boardwalk. “I-I just, I mean, well, it’s not that, you know…” He trailed on. 

 

Jack suddenly laughed. “I am merely jesting.” 

 

Thief froze, looking back up at Jack, then laughing himself. “It’s all lies about you, you know? All that stuff about you being a hero is garbage, you’re pure evil!” 

 

Their laughter became a duet, loud and obnoxious as the Thief grabbing onto Jack for support, but the music suddenly stopped. They both looked up to see the newlyweds and the townsfolk staring disapprovingly. 

 

“Uh, sorry folks.” Thief said, grinning sheepishly, when he heard the sound of a foghorn. He turned to see the ship rolled in. “Hey, our ride’s here!” he laughed. “So we’ll just… yeah, bye.” He finished before rushing off, grabbing Jack’s hand 

 

“Our humblest apologies!” Jack yelled after the crowd with a bow, before joining the Thief in his sprint. 

 

They reached the ship, just in time as the aisle was lowered down and a woman called out “All aboard!” 

 

The two men, out of breath looked down at their hands, still in one another. They looked back up at each other, the petals swirling gently in the wind around their feet as the sun set. They just continued to stare for a moment, when something washed over Jack’s face. The Thief raised an eyebrow, confused at the sudden somberness that Jack was expressing in silence. He squeezed the Thief’s hand tightly, and turned his body towards him, taking a step closer, but before he could do anything else, the voice rang out again

 

“You lovebirds gonna get on? Or do you need a minute?” The woman asked. “Cause we can’t have the aisle blocked.” 

 

Before he could say anything, the Thief felt a muscular arm wrap around his side. He expected Jack to pull him into his side, when he felt another arm go under his legs, just behind the knee and he was scooped off of the ground. He let out a squawk, frantically grabbing at his hat, then slinging the arm around Jack’s shoulders to balance himself. He turned his head to Jack, who exchanged the forlorn look with a confident and mischievous smirk, carrying him across the wooden aisle on board the ship. The Thief allowed himself to relax, laughing as he curled up closer to the samurai. In this moment, the idea of marriage didn’t sound too bad.


	10. Rule Ten

The Thief was a professional. He let his clients come and go as they needed.  

 

“We both know this can’t continue…”  

Jack had been acting strange that night. The Thief had grown accustomed to Jack’s brooding, and knew how to help him snap out of it, to get him to tell him what’s wrong, but there was something different about tonight. Just being near Jack seemed to make the air feel heavy, his eyes were at a constant downcast and he was barely responding to anything the Thief said to him. The ship landed them in a real city this time, much to the Thief’s delight, but to his dismay, the place was filled with Aku’s minions patrolling the area. The two took shelter in an underground parking area, empty and long abandoned; it was hardly romantic, but it reminded Thief of the sewers in a way, enticing a strange sense of nostalgia. With the right moves, the Thief figured he could get Jack out of this funk. After setting up the fire, Jack had propped himself against a pillar. The Thief took off his hat and set it on top of his briefcase, crawling forward between Jack’s legs, settling his body against his and taking Jack’s arms to move around him. Jack finally responded by pressing his chin on top of the Thief’s head and pulling the Thief in closer to him, embracing him tighter than he had expected. The Thief was satisfied with his success, until Jack said those words.

 

“Wh-” The Thief craned his head to look up at Jack, and had a sinking feeling about the nature of those words. Even so, he let out a small, slightly nervous laugh. “L-Listen, we’ll get to that when we’re both ready. I don’t think this dump really sets the mood anyways.”

 

“Nick, please.” Jack started to push himself up, His hands on the Thief’s shoulders with closed eyes. The Thief, now getting worried pushed himself up too, turning himself around to be able to sit in front of Jack. This wasn’t the reaction he expected. Jack’s voice held no indication of irritation, humor, or embarrassment. In fact, it almost sounded pained.  “You and I come from very different worlds. I knew how selfish it would be of me to start this but… even so, I must return to the past.”

 

Jack wanted to leave him. The Thief knew this was coming, and at first we didn’t think he’d have a problem with it. They would have had their fun and as soon as it was safe too they would have gone their separate ways, Jack back to his hero work and Thief back to cat burglary, but Jack caught him off guard once again by starting an actual relationship. As a result, the Thief had already come up with a plan as to what to say when this conversation finally came up.

 

 

“... Do you though? I mean, really.”

 

Jack looked completely thrown off by this. “What?”

 

“I’ve given it some thought, Jack, and I’m thinking that there doesn’t have to be a set time and place for killing Aku just so long as it happens.” The Thief waved his hand, a small smile forming on his face, hoping that the samurai would catch his drift.

 

“What are you saying?” Jack’s eyebrows furrowed at this as he leaned forward, but not in the curious and confused way the Thief had come to know, but in a way laced with a sense of anger. He looked as though he was challenging the Thief to continue. It was too late for him to back out now.

 

“I mean, what if you just killed Aku here? What if you liberated the world now? The people throw a party, they sing praises of you, anyone with an evil bone in their body hightails it, and then maybe you could… you could stay here.”

 

“Thief.” There was a cold emphasis on the use of his alias.“ I don’t believe you understand what you’re asking me.”

 

“Yes I do!” Thief interrupted. “We’ve got something here! Everybody else here has got something, So why can’t we make this place the best we can, huh?! Why can’t we just be here?!

 

“My people were eradicated under his reign!” Jack suddenly stood, speaking with an anger that the Thief hadn’t imagined him capable of. “ My home was ravaged! My family died knowing that I had failed them! The world has felt nothing but oppression and suffering, for centuries upon centuries! Why Can you not see why I cannot allow this future to exist?!”

 

“Because this is our future!” Thief shouted back, shooting up to his feet. “After everything we’ve been through?! Everything we’ve done?! After all this, you have the _nerve_ to stand here and tell me this ain’t real?! This is the realest thing I’ve ever had in my entire life, maybe even the only real thing I’ve ever had, and it just means _nothing_ to you?!”

 

The Thief felt his eyes grow hot as his hands began to shake, his breathing hasting. Jack just gave the Thief a stare, eyes wide and silent.

 

“Just say it. Tell me what this meant to you.” The Thief growled, throwing away all control over his words.

 

Jack continued his stare, his shock melting into shame, but he still didn’t look away.

 

“Answer me, damn it!” The Thief suddenly lunged forward, bringing down his fists onto Jack’s chest.

 

Jack caught the Thief’s hands, and he squirmed in his grip, growling and trying to get out some words, but upon looking up at Jack and seeing that same saddened expression, the Thief paused. He stared for a moment, feeling the anger drain out of him, only to be replaced by a heavy cloud of sorrow. He looked down, feeling his knees start to give out from under him as he let out a sob, and the two found themselves kneeling on the ground. Jack moved to cup his cheeks to tilt his head upwards. The Thief didn’t bother hiding the tears this time, staring into Jack’s own mist filled and guilt ridden eyes, and he knew that he was defeated. He leaned in to press a gentle kiss onto his lips, and the Thief reached up his own hand to hold Jack’s on his face, to silently beg him to not let go, but his hand pulled away with his kiss and he pressed his forehead to his.

 

“I will always love you, Nick.”

 

As the samurai stood, the man Nick had come to know as Jack seemed to fade away, and in his place stood Ryouichi. The lost prince to the lands Aku had enslaved. The defender of all things pure and just. The only one worthy to wield the sacred blade. The hero who would save them all. The man who changed Nick Cooney’s world forever was the man who was never meant to be a part of it. He didn’t say anything, didn’t even move as Jack moved passed him, moving further and further away. When The Thief could no longer hear the sound of wooden sandals against the cement, he stood to his feet, knees shaking, and pulled a toothpick from his jacket to chew on. He then picked up his briefcase, and placed his hat on his head, tilting it downwards to hide his eyes, and walked in the other direction.


	11. Rule Eleven

The Thief was a professional. All that mattered was that the job got done. He never stuck his neck out for anyone that wasn’t him. 

Going back to work had been hard, to say the least. As it would turn out, allying yourself with a recognized threat to the world’s tyrant sort of muddied your image among clients, in particular, the clients that Thief would get. He’d ended up setting a new base up in Central Hub; the place was crawling with minions of Aku, yes, but also all kinds of other rotten, unaligned freaks. Figuring if he was careful, laid low and was selective about the people he talked to and the places he went, he’d be able to pick up jobs without being picked out by any of the shogun of sorrow’s many servants. 

But getting jobs wasn’t exactly Thief’s biggest concern; it was that actually doing it reminded him too much of Jack.  

He should have never took the job for the time talisman. Hell, he should never even had taken the job at the pyramid. Then maybe he’d still be able to snag himself food without turning around and becoming crushingly disappointed that there wasn’t a dark haired man before him with arms crossed and glare heavy to tell him to put it back. Maybe he wouldn’t stop to help out every schmuck who got themselves in any kind of danger because of how much he was influenced by that man’s moral code. Maybe he wouldn’t currently being used as bait for a trap for said man. 

It all started when he got a job from a jittery alien, who told some long and unnecessary story on how he needed this treasure to pay off a debt or his former boss would come after him and his family. He could hear Jack in his mind offer to help the creature with no reward, and just for that he told his client he’d only take an 50 percent cut of the treasure. His destination was an old graveyard for some ancient civilization in a jungle of all places. Shooting himself in the leg sounded preferable to the Thief in all honesty, but again, work was slow. He reached the necropolis, but as soon as he made his way down the stone staircase to the underground crypt, sparks started flying from his briefcase, letting off smoke before letting out a pathetic low whir and a loud pop of electricity. He tapped the button for the machine gun setting experimentally, receiving no response. Someone had disabled his tech! 

He barely had time to throw a stun grenade when he was suddenly rushed at from all ends. He closed his eyes to shield them from the blast, then shot his line launcher out blindly. Luckily for him, it snaked it’s way around one of his attacker’s legs, knocking him down as the Thief made a break for it. As the hunter hit the ground, there was a familiar clang of metal; a bot. The Thief put up quite the fight, even managed to break one of the optics of one unfortunate bot with his pliers, but he was eventually cornered and before he could even attempt to talk his way out of his situation, his head was slammed against a wall and he was out cold. When he woke up he was in a claustrophobically small room, nearly pitch black with his arms secured behind his back and ankles forced together with iron shackles. Thief had a sinking suspicion that they didn’t nab him because he’d stolen from these goons before. 

Thief knew struggling against these bonds were pointless, but those creeps searched down everything he had, in turn taking anything he might have used to escape. His only real option was to charm the prick who would come in for an interrogation of something of the sorts into letting him go, but no one came in. He was alone in the dark for a frustratingly long time. After what might as well have been years in the Thief’s mind, he began that these goons had intentioned to let him slowly die in that cell. That fate certainly did not sit well with him, so he started to call out into the darkness. His shouts became more and more panicked, accompanied with thrashing and just general things he would definitely be ashamed of once he escaped. Assuming he would escape. Just as he found himself quitting from exhaustion, he heard a muffled slam from outside his cell. He nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing the first sound that wasn’t his own, and strained to hear the sounds that followed. It was a struggle, no doubt, strained groans, growls, scraping against the floor… and it was getting closer! Someone finally decided to come around! But The Thief’s relief was short lived when the door swung open and he saw his captors and an all too familiar face. 

Jack was being restrained by two of the robots, allowing his legs to drag against the floor as he panted heavily. He tilted his head up, allowing Thief to see the utter exhaustion on his face, his hair in a state, bruises and scars scattered across his face, his Gi torn and splattered with oil and speckles of red, and his sword was missing. The moment their eyes locked, the Thief found himself freezing up as a look of fear spread across the other man’s face. 

“Let… let him go!” Jack forced out between hoarse breaths. The drones barely even acknowledged Jack had said anything as they moved him into the cell. “You have me, let him go!” 

The Thief snapped back into reality when Jack let out a cry of pain as he was roughly shoved to his knees, just behind the Thief. 

“Hey! Lay off of him!” He barked without thinking. The bots forced Jack’s arms behind his back, just between Thief’s own bound wrists and they slapped on a pair of manacles on him. Jack let out a snarl, pulling himself forward in an attempt to fight back, only to pull the Thief back and smack their heads together. In their pained dazed, the bots brought Jack’s ankles together in a similar pair and promptly left the room, slamming the rusted iron door shut.

“Jack!” The Thief growled through barred teeth. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

“I…” Jack’s voice was hesitant and nervous as he lightly tugged at his chains. “I had received word of your capture, and came to rescue you…” 

The Thief snorted, more bitterly than humorlessly. “How’s that going for you?” 

“Not as well as I hoped it…” He paused a moment. “Oh… never mind.” 

Thief rolled his eyes, twisting himself back to grab Jack’s hair pin with his teeth, pulling it out and dropping it by his hands. Jack seemed to catch wind of what he was doing, and attempted to take the pin in between his fingers, only to have them brush against the Thief’s. He quickly snapped his hands away, in turn pulling Thief’s head to knock against his own once more. 

“T-That was not my intention.” Jack stated awkwardly. 

Thief let out a frustrated groan, as he took the pin and began to work at the lock in his shackles. 

“Did they hurt you?” Jack suddenly asked. 

“I’m trying to concentrate.” Thief snapped.  

“I only wish to know if you’re alright…!” 

“That’s something you really care about now, is it?” Thief stopped picking at the lock for a moment, turning his head the most he could to Jack. 

“You know it wouldn’t have been right for us to stay with one another given the circumstances!” Now it was Jack’s turn to be defensive, as it would seem. 

“So it was right to lead me on and throw me under the bus?!” Thief retorted, fists clenched. 

“I did not throw you under a bus!” 

“It’s a figure of- oh my god, would you just stop?! I’m trying to get us out of here!” 

Jack stopped, and the oppressive silence in the cell returned once more. 

“Thank you.” Thief said, exasperated as he picked the lock of his first shackle, pulling his right arm free and twisting it, sighing at the lost pressure. He twisted his body to the left to free the other, then his legs before going to free his cell mate. 

“Ok listen,” Thief started, his voice low. “Where are we exactly? Did you get the layout of this place?” 

“In the underground section of a necropolis in the deep jungle.” Jack answered, and Thief realized that he hadn’t even left the spot where his supposed job was. “There are many winding corridors, as well as perches and places to hide.” 

“Ok, we can use that. Any idea where they took your sword? Chances are my stuff’s there too.” Thief continued as he freed Jack’s right arm.  

“I am afraid not.” 

“Alright.” Thief finished picking the locks of Jack’s chains, and he pushed himself up to his feet. “So we’ll find our junk, get out of here, go as far away from these mooks as we can and go on our merry separate ways. Sound good, Jack?”  

“Very well.” Jack nodded, a serious expression on his face; straight to business. Thief was glad that this wasn’t going to be as hard as he thought it would. 

As Jack stood, Thief made his way to the door of the cell, jiggling the handle experimentally. Locked, as he expected. He sighed, bringing himself down to his knees to bust open that lock too. 

“Thief, when you open that door, stay behind and move with it.” Jack ordered, joining by the Thief’s side and lowering himself into a fighting stance. 

The Thief nodded, as the lock clicked and he slowly moved the door open. As he did, a bot rushed in, barely having enough time to look in the direction of the two men when Jack grabbed it and slammed it against the wall, ripping its head back and slamming it in once more, sparks flying from the circuits that fell loose from the cracked metal as it slumped down. Jack turned to the Thief. 

“Go.” He whispered. 

The Thief slipped out the side of the door and examining the long corridor they were in. To the left was a deep end, but to the right was pitch darkness. He looked up, seeing two ledges lining the walls, sticking out just enough for the someone to fit themselves on. Thief looked to the wall, grabbing onto the roots that covered it and struggled to pull himself up. He started to think about what he wouldn’t give for his line launcher, and when felt a pair of hands reach under his foot and push him upwards. 

“Hey, hey hey!” He started, as he was fully pushed onto the ledge. He turned to face Jack, who looked confused. “I got it, alright?” 

Jack only responded with a familiar glare as he scaled the opposite wall to his own ledge in a matter of seconds.  

They moved across the ledges quickly and quietly, before they ended just at a staircase. Jack jumped down, followed by Thief, and they crept up the stone stairs. They led to a large square room, with two tunnels on the right side and on the left. 

“I remember this place, they brought me here through the right tunnel.” Jack affirmed. 

“Lead the way then.” Thief shrugged, as he followed Jack through the tunnels. 

The place was complex, no doubt, endless hallways and staircases, ledges and holes and perches, and it didn’t help that they were completely on edge the entire time. Just as they made their way down yet another hallway, Thief heard the quiet echo of footsteps from in front of them. 

“Watch it!” Thief hissed, as he grabbed Jack and yanked him into a small hole, chest to chest as he pulled them back as far as he could to hide. 

They waited in silence as two more robots walked past in a steady but hurried pace. The men watched them leave, before turning to lock eyes with each other. Before Thief could even process a single thought, Jack quickly moved from the hole and continued his silent steps through the shadowy corridor. Thief scoffed, trailing after. 

There was a staircase far larger than the slender and cramped ones they had seen up to that point, and Jack noted that they were getting close to the exit. They pressed themselves to the right wall, and looked out the side of the top of the staircase. The room was lit by a dim light from a final staircase Thief recognized as the exit, and had four individual tombs at each corner. At the far bottom right tomb, there were their wardens grouped together, one with their back to them as it looked over Jack’s blade. Jack and the Thief ducked back behind the wall, and Thief looked to his feet, seeing the small pebbles littering the stairs, and scooped a handful up. He tossed them up once, letting them fall back in his hands before chucking them to the opposite corner. The bots turned at the sound, and made their way to investigate, the seemingly most curious of them all placing the sword onto the lid of the tomb. 

“Wait here.” The Thief whispered quickly, and he sped over to the sword, grabbing it by the handle. He flinched when he heard the quick sounds of metal against stone, and turned to see a bot rushing at him. Without thinking, he pushed himself against the tomb, mentally chastising himself for allowing himself to resign like that, when Jack flew forward, kicking the robot in the head and knocking it to the ground. 

“What are you doing?!” Thief shouted. 

Jack turned to him. “What am I doing?! What do you mean, I was saving your life! What were you doing?!” 

A second bot tried to make a grab for the Thief, or rather the sword he was holding. Thief quickly pulled away. 

“I was trying to get your sword to you so we could get the drop on these goons!” Thief retorted. “Here, catch!” He tossed the sword in his direction, only for it to be caught by a different robot, who ran in front of Jack. The robot who tried to grab the Thief earlier brought his fist down onto the boney man, who rolled out of the way, allowing the tomb to be crushed under it.  

“Thief!” Jack called, dodging a hit from his own enemy. As he did, he caught sight of the Thief’s briefcase, and made a break for it. He grabbed a hold of it, and flicked on the machine gun setting, riddling the bot before the Thief with bullet holes. 

“I can handle myself, get the sword!” The Thief yelled, bearing more irritation than concern. 

Jack instead dashed to the Thief’s side, handing him the suitcase, not moving from his side.

“Jack, listen to me!” Thief commanded shooting at the robot bearing Jack’s blade. Jack ran to the sad remains of the bot, sliding on the ground to grab it before stabbing it into the ground, using it to spin himself around to bolt back in front of the Thief, taking a protective stance. 

“Jack, why the hell are you acting like this?! Thief exclaimed

“Because I don’t want to lose you again, Nick!” Jack suddenly roared. Thief found himself pausing, straightening his back, and staring at the samurai. “I thought I was doing the right thing! I was so certain in my decision, that I disregarded how it would hurt you! I-” He sliced a robot that jumped at him, turning to face the red haired man. “I left you with the thought that I didn’t cherish what we had!” 

The Thief blinked, processing what Jack just confessed to him.

“I know that I cannot ask you for forgiveness…”

“...Stop with the tortured hero junk, alright?!” Thief started lowering himself back down to fire at another robot. “It’s not like I didn’t cross a line that night either!” 

“Please, do not blame yourself for something you did not do!” 

“No, I did! I knew how much your home meant to you and I just put you on the spot and told you to leave it behind! Of course you got mad, you practically got the world on your shoulders! That’s not just something you can shrug off!” 

“But if I hadn’t abandoned you, then perhaps you wouldn’t have been captured. If I hadn’t been so selfish to start all of this all that time ago, Aku would not have targeted you!” 

“Jack, I was the one who decided to kill that assassin, and if I could go back knowing what would happen if I did, you wanna know what I’d do? I’d do it again, only faster because I love you!” 

With that, the Thief shot the last of the robots down. The two stood there among the mess of metal and circuits on the floor, panting and sweating. They stared at each other with a newfound sense of awareness, of clarity on one another. Without a word, they rushed towards each other and embraced tightly, burying their faces in the other’s shoulder. Thief pulled himself away to grab Jack’s face and pepper it with kisses, to which Jack responded by stopping him, only so he could capture his lips. When they broke the kiss off, they pressed their foreheads together gently.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Nick.” Jack murmured over and over, his voice trembling. “I love you…”

“So am I, Ryouichi.” Thief said. “It’s ok, it’s alright.” He assured,pulling the man back in for another embrace.

They stood locked with one another for a moment, before they looked up to see the light pouring in from the top of the stairway leading out of the necropolis. Nick slipped his hand into Ryouichi’s, who squeezed it, and they made their way up to the surface together.


	12. Rule Twelve

Nick Cooney was a professional. He, under no circumstances could form any ties or join any sort of cause, no matter what. 

When the Thief woke up, Jack was still there. He turned himself to glance at the dark haired man, squinting from the break of sunlight through the shutters of the dingy window. He was awake, one arm curled under the Thief’s with his hand pressed gently to his chest, the other combing fingers through wavy and bedraggled red locks. He gave a relaxed smile and leaned forward to kiss the Thief’s forehead, who in turn groaned loudly, turning back over. 

“You are in a good mood.” He chuckled quietly. 

“Hey, the honeymoon phase is done, you’re stuck with the real me.” Thief snapped back, shifting his legs. 

“That is not such a bad thing, is it?” 

Thief snorted. “You jinxed yourself, congratulations.” 

The lovers checked out a room at a small motel at the first city they found. The overall cheapness of the place seemed to bring back a wave of nostalgia to the two, leading to reminiscing, to playful insults, to casual flirting, which in turn lead to both of them getting frisky until finally the bed was used for something other than sleeping. In spite of the soreness, grogginess, and the headache coming on, Thief felt content in this moment. It was quiet, a romantic haze still looming over the room as he laid in the arms of the man who he’d come to care for more than anyone he’d ever known. Of course, there was still a burning question left hanging over the pair, one that both parties were dreading to ask. The Thief figured he might as well get it over with, shifting his body around to face Jack and he cleared his throat to speak.

“So what’d we do now…?” 

The way Thief phrased it was casual, but Jack was quick to understand the meaning behind it. His face dropped, and he pursed his lips in thought, his eyes directing away from the Thief’s.

“Nick… I shall not abandon you again. I wish that… that there was some way that I… that we could-”

“No, I understand.” Thief interrupted. “This had been one hell of a time, but when push comes to shove…we gotta get you home.” Out came the bitter truth that both men knew. Evidently, it’d been common knowledge for quite some time now, but their reunion had also evidently sparked enough to cause a bout of willful ignorance.

“This world is full of possibilities; I’ve learned that much from my time here. Perhaps this won’t be the last we see of each other. Even if that proves to be false, no matter what may happen, what this may change, what we’ve been through will always be real.” 

Jack brushed a knuckle gently across the Thief’s face with an affectionate look. Thief closed his eyes, smiling and breathing slowly as he was caressed. When Jack turned his hand to cup his cheek with his palm, the Thief reached up, and held it there. 

“You’re a real sap, you know that right?” The Thief asked with a snort.

“And you are a remarkable ass.” 

This enticed laughter from both men. 

“I guess that’s why we work so well together, huh?” Thief commented through snickers. 

“Yes, we balance each other.” Jack confirmed.  

“Still, we could figure something out. For us to be together, or see each other again, something, I mean, the whole galaxy has got access to us, and when you think of it like that, we’re not from such different worlds aren’t we?” 

“You are quite the hypocrite. You tell me I am a sap then say such things?” 

“Shit, my cover’s blown!” Thief half shouted, shooting up. “Gotta get out of here before it’s too late!” 

Jack lunged forward, grabbing the Thief and pulling him back down on top of him. “It is already too late! All of the world knows!” 

“Dammit!” Thief cried dramatically, squirming against Jack’s grip. 

Thief let out a surprised yelp as Jack twisted Thief over, pulling them back into a spooning position. He curled in on himself, bringing a hand to cover his eyes as he all but chortled, Jack’s quiet chuckles mixing in.

“Alright, alright.” Thief said, clearing his throat as to help himself calm down. “Ok, so, back to business. While I was holed up in Central hub, I heard some rumors about some researchers in the northern mountains looking into something real weird. Little tears that come and go, showing crap from the past. Might just be rumors, but hey, might be worth checking out.” 

“The Northern mountains? How long of a journey is that?” 

“From here? Ah, I’d say about two days by airship.” 

“That’s fantastic…!” Jack leaned up on his side, an excited smiling spreading on his face. “Thank you for sharing this!” 

“Right then.” Thief grinned back, pleased at Jack’s reaction. “I’ll grab my stuff.” 

Thief sat up, pulling the covers off of himself, when he felt Jack’s hand quickly but cautiously slip into his, holding him in place. Thief turned to look down at the samurai.

“Nick...” Jack whispered the Thief’s name, looking into his eyes with a timid look. “...Can we wait a moment longer?” 

Thief paused, as Jack’s eyes darted away, his nervousness seeming to turn to guilt. Thief moved himself back down to Jack’s level, brushing a stray lock of black hair from his face and planting a kiss on his lips.

“I guess the past isn’t going anywhere, is it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!


End file.
